The Metropoltian Police has announced it will be reviewing every live case being investigated by its Child Abuse and Sexual Offences command where the force is in discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

It comes after the collapse of two rape cases in just two weeks over problems relating to the disclosure of evidence.

The trial of 22-year-old Liam Allan was halted at Croydon Crown Court last week.

On Tuesday (December 19) another prosecution collapsed against Isaac Itiary, who was facing trial at Inner London Crown Court charged with the rape of a child under 16, along with other offences, but the CPS failed to offer evidence.

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The defendant was charged in July this year, but police only disclosed further "relevant material" in response to the defence case statement submitted on Friday (December 15).

A CPS spokesman said: "On December 17 2017, the police provided new material to the CPS, which had previously been requested, and this was reviewed."

The Met will now review the Itiary investigation alongside all other current investigations.

A review has been announced on ever live sex crime case (Image: PA)

Commander Richard Smith, who oversees rape investigations in the Met, said: "I completely understand that this case may raise concerns about our compliance with disclosure legislation given the backdrop of the case of R v Allan last week.

"The Met is completely committed to understanding what went wrong in the case of Mr Allan and is carrying out a joint review with the CPS, the findings of which will be published.

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"Rape investigations are by their nature very complex, and often hinge on the contradictory accounts of the alleged suspect and the complainant about what has taken place.

"We are reviewing all our investigations, where we are in discussion with the CPS, to assure ourselves that we are meeting our disclosure obligations in an acceptable timescale based on the volume of data that some cases involve."

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